Review: LEGO 75365 Yavin 4 Rebel Base
July 12, 2023
|
2
2
Despite playing a fairly major role in the Star Wars universe, the Yavin IV Rebel Base remained elusive within the LEGO Star Wars theme.
A concept LEGO model appeared in the 2009 LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary, which inspired fan imagination and made many wish for a set of the Massassi Great Temple, but ultimately the model never came to fruition.
Although it appeared in movies like A New Hope and Rogue One along with other Star Wars media, the rebellion headquarters never made an official LEGO Star Wars appearance – until now.
The 2023 summer wave’s biggest set is the highly-awaited 75365 Yavin 4 Rebel Base, with a commanding US$170 / AU$259.99 price tag and a huge lineup of 12 minifigures. Let’s see if it is worth the wait!
This is a guest review from our LEGO Star Wars correspondent Vaderfan. We’ll be checking out the entirety of August 2023 wave of Star Wars sets in the next few days, so stay tuned for more!
Special thanks to the LEGO Group for sending this set for review.
75365 Yavin 4 Rebel Base Set Details
Set Number: 75365
Set Name: Yavin 4 Rebel Base
Pieces: 1066
Minifigures: 12
Retail Price: US$169.99 / AU$259.99 / £149.99 / €169.99 / CAD$219.99
Theme: Star Wars
Release Date: 1 August 2023
75365 Yavin 4 Rebel Unboxing
The front of the box shows the exterior of the Rebel Base, populated by the included minifigures with the Y-wing in flight.
The back of the box shows the reverse of the model, displaying its interior and the various play features.
Inside the box are eleven numbered bags, along with a fairly thick instruction manual box.
As is common in larger sets nowadays, the instruction manuals come packaged in a cardboard holder. This one in particular is smaller in size but is noticeably thick.
Inside you’ll find a whopping six instruction manuals, along with the sticker sheet. This allows multiple people to build the set as a group-based activity. Oddly, the manuals for bags 3-4 and 7-8 use brighter colored paper than the other four manuals.
The translucent-backed sticker sheet only has 9 stickers, which is very reasonable for such a large set, although several of the stickers are quite large.
75365 Yavin 4 Rebel Build Process
Bags 1 and 2 construct the Y-wing and its boarding staircase, along with the Rebel Pilot and his astromech.
Bags 3-4 build the left side of the base, along with figures of General Dodonna and Red Leader.
Bags 5-6 build the center portion and the main base entrance, along with the Chewbacca minifigure.
Bags 7-8 bring the right-hand side of the base, which uses a similar (but mirrored) design to the section included in bags 3-4.
Bags 9-10 construct the ceremonial chamber…
…while bag 11 adds a lookout post and other supplementary side builds.
Put it all together, and you get the completed Yavin 4 Rebel Base!
75365 Yavin 4 Rebel Minifigures
First up we have Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in their celebration outfits. Most notably, these figures come with their medals of bravery as a separate printed element, unlike previous variants which had a printed medal. And yes, a spare third medal is included.
Both figures are pretty good overall, Han’s inner shirt is buttoned up for the first time, and he uses the double-sided head that previously represented his younger self. What happened to the old Han face print?
Next up is Princess Leia and General Dodonna. Neither minifigure is really new, although Leia does use this ponytailed hairpiece for the first time – repurposed from the Episode I Padme in 75258.
Dodonna makes a reappearance from set 75301, but is a fitting inclusion here. These figures both have alternate head prints, and Leia even has printing on the back of her dress piece!
Next up are Chewbacca and C-3PO. Chewbacca is unchanged since 2015, but still looks alright and wields his stud-launching crossbow.
C-3PO is also not new, as this figure first appeared in 75339, but still has a good level of detail across.
In fact, C-3PO is the only figure in this set to feature arm printing! Unfortunately no dual-moulding for his right leg, so the silver printing looks slightly awkward. It’s a shame that they didn’t include the C-3PO from 75341 UCS Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder.
Next up are Rebel Pilots Garven Dreis and Jon Vander, dubbed “Red Leader” and “Gold Leader” respectively.
Both feature printed flight suits and the same double-sided head print, with only their helmet prints differentiating them.
The helmet prints certainly look good, and it is always nice to get new Star Wars helmet designs in LEGO – this is Red Leader’s first minifigure appearance.
It is a shame these figures do not feature the arm printing and dual-moulded legs that were part of Luke Skywalker’s minifigure flight suit in 75355, but that might be too much to ask for.
Up next are two unnamed generic rebels – the one on the left is the Rebel Fleet Trooper while the one on the right is a Rebel Crew. The fleet trooper is not a new minifigure, but does have a binoculars-like element as part of his tracker accessory – If you’re a fan of the LEGO Friends theme, you might recognise this element being used in Zobo!
Both figures feature the same large white helmet, although only the Fleet Trooper features a visor. The figures have double-sided heads with printed chinstraps, which could be possibly useful for making your own custom Star Wars figures.
Last but not least we have the two astromech droids, R2-D2 (left) and R2-BHD. R2 is unchanged from his previous appearances in 75339 Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama, 75355 X-Wing Starfighter, and 75360 Yoda’s Jedi Starfighter, while R2-BHD is new.
Unfortunately, only R2-D2 gets back printing – his silver counterpart has a blank back. The light grey body of R2-BHD also stands out amongst the other metallic silver parts.
This is definitely a pretty generous selection of minifigures that will strongly appeal to collectors and fans alike, and they really help to bring the model to life.
This set being designed as a playset almost necessitates the large amount of minifigures, and younger LEGO Star War fans can enjoy playing with the varied selection of characters, while older fans can appreciate the A New Hope versions of their favourite characters.
Completed Model
The first thing you build in this set is this scaled-down Y-wing. These smaller versions of iconic ships have become fairly common in the Star Wars theme as of late, especially as part of larger playsets.
Despite its smaller size and reduced detail, the starfighter looks good, with all the key components still captured well.
The engine nacelles are constructed using Technic ski rods and are surprisingly sturdy, despite their fragile appearance. They can swivel side-to-side slightly but will not come off.
The model does not have retractable landing gear, but rests on these 1×2 rounded plates with bars and a transparent 2×2 round brick. It is sleek enough that it does not affect the overall shaping of the model.
The cockpit uses a relatively new Speed Champions windshield piece, and can be removed to access the interior. Inside is a printed 2×2 slope with a graphic of the Death Star trench.
A minifigure can be placed inside the cockpit, with room for an astromech behind the rotating cannons. They look rather out-of-proportion to the model overall but that is forgivable given its reduced scale.
The Y-wing is armed with spring-loaded shooters, mounted next to each engine pod. These look quite out-of-place, and I’m surprised the designers did not integrate them into the bodywork. They are, however, easy enough to remove if you do not like them.
There’s also this mini staircase side build included that lines up quite nicely with the height of the Y-wing for boarding.
A couple more side builds are included, including a pair of landing lights for the Y-wing as well as an olive green service cart.
This little hovercraft can be used to transport goods and personnel from place to place within the large Yavin IV base, and has a simple but effective brick-built design. The Rebel Crew figure can stand and pilot the speeder with a pair of joysticks.
The middle of the cart hinges open for some extra storage space, where the rebel technician’s spanner can be placed. I was hoping the landing lights could be placed inside to prevent them from getting easily lost, but unfortunately they are slightly too big.
Just like in-universe, this vehicle is commonly used by rebel personnel for transport within the base! Up to four seats are included for a minifigure to be ferried around.
Moving on to the main Rebel Base itself, which features an aesthetically pleasing dark tan and green color scheme.
It has an accurate angular and tiered design, similar to that of Maya architecture, although it does not quite as steep as angle as the in-universe building.
The real temple has a rounder, more angled design, with openings on each tier. The LEGO model simplifies the lower portion, while also replicating the very top section (albeit also scaled down).
The model stands rather tall at 31cm (12″), but also has a surprising amount of depth to the model.
The large opening at the base forms the main entrance, and also doubles as the hangar.
The walls also have foliage distributed throughout to represent the aged mossy stone. A couple of the new fern pieces are also included, in both regular and lime green.
Turning the model around reveals the interior.
The model is built in a modular way so can be taken apart fairly easily. This does not really help with play, though, as you cannot rearrange any of the sections to change the layout of the base.
The dark tan walls at the front are hinged so can open up slightly, but that does not enhance accessibility or play value by much either.
Beginning on the left side, there is a reconnaissance tower built into the hollow of a tree.
Unfortunately the design of the tree is incredibly simplistic, with scattered foliage and unnaturally shaped branches.
It looks too basic even for an 8+ set, and even more disappointingly, is actually only half a tree as the back half is left open.
You can place a minifigure on top of the observation post, where he can look out with his binoculars. The post does rotate from side to side to allow him to observe any incoming ships.
You can adjust the height of the observation post using this Technic axle at the back, which does leave an awkward-looking hollow back to the tree.
Using the included Technic stopper, you can raise up the recon post to a higher position, enabling the trooper to look farther.
The height of the full observation post does look a bit strange as it is almost as tall as the main base, which highlights the out-of-scale proportions.
Moving on to the actual base itself, it actually has a surprisingly decent amount of depth to the model, as opposed to several other modern LEGO playsets which have more of a facade-like layout.
The design of the base creates a large hollow in the middle which works as the main hangar, and the included Y-wing parks here neatly. Any other bigger Star Wars ships you have in your collection will not fit here, though.
With the Y-wing removed, this open area also doubles as free space for you to play with or display your minifigures.
The left side of the hangar has a stickered 4×4 tile above with the rebel insignia, as well as a stickered 1x2x3 brick with a schematic of the Y-wing, allowing you to simulate some repairs.
Strangely, the rest of this portion of the lower level is completely empty, apart from a wall-mounted pair of clips that holds on to a blaster rifle. There is definitely room here for more detail, perhaps a more fleshed-out weapons storage room or even some maintenance equipment for the included Y-wing.
The other side of the ground floor is also relatively devoid of detail, save for a pair of cabinets and clips.
Inside the cabinets are some printed thermal detonators and a brick-built vial of what appears to be coaxium, from the Solo movie.
While I appreciate the designers leaving empty space for playing with figures, I think the ground floor could definitely have used some more detail.
Ladders are included on both halves of the base which bring you up to the second floor, which has the rebel briefing room on the left side.
This area has some chairs and a stickered 4×8 inverted tile with a nice graphic of the Death Star trench run bombing plan.
There’s also a water dispenser and coffee cup in the corner, plus a stickered 2×3 control panel. Otherwise, this area continues the simplistic, bare design within the base so far.
The other side also has a similarly low level of detail, although it features a nice stickered 3×3 round tile showing the monitor that displays the approaching Death Star.
The stickered monitor can rotate on the ground to simulate the Death Star approaching, but otherwise this room also lacks detail apart from another stickered 2×3 control panel on the wall.
Stairs on both sides of the model lead to the central section of the base, but access is oddly blocked by these stickered trans-light blue panels, which represent the holographic displays as seen in the film.
The center section itself comprises of a pair of cannons controlled by a stickered computer screen, along with a crate for storing extra ammunition.
The stickered display shows a TIE Fighter being targeted, suggesting these cannons could be used for anti-air purposes.
Both cannons are linked together with a Technic beam, and moving the handle in the middle rotates the cannons in synchrony, from right…
…to left. A couple of minifigures can stand here to supervise the cannons.
These cannons are actually stud shooters, which protrude from the front of the base and can launch trans-red studs at any opposing forces.
The next room above is the ceremonial chamber, complete with some studded grey steps on the floor and some foliage.
Despite the limited space and angled walls you can still fit several minifigures in here, to recreate the ending scene of A New Hope.
Above the room is a rotating satellite dish for the communications array.
Final Thoughts
On the whole, this set is a mixed bag, that will appeal to some but not all fans.
Minifigure collectors will likely be pleased with the wide array of minifigures here, although only a couple are truly exclusive. Younger LEGO Star Wars fans will find a lot to like, as this large playset offers a decent amount of space to play around, plus a fun, swooshable mini Y-wing and minifigures to populate the scene.
Older fans on the other hands, will likely be disappointed with the low level of detail throughout the model, especially on the inside.
Indeed, while the model does have some charm with its dollhouse-like setup, the lack of detail throughout is disappointing, particularly when you consider the price tag. US$170 is a hefty price, even with the inclusion of twelve minifigures, especially taking into account the 1000-ish piece count.
Perhaps given the popularity of the Yavin 4 Base among the fans, maybe a Master Builder Series set would have this location better justice.
Nonetheless, this playset version of the set will likely yield many hours of play for younger LEGO Star Wars builders, although the steep retail price restricts accessibility. Wait for a steep discount on this, as LEGO will likely not sell too many of these at this price.
What I liked:
- High minifigure count
- Final model is more than just a facade, with proper depth to the build
- Dollhouse-style design provides good play value for younger fans
What I didn’t like:
- Very Expensive
- Simplistic build process and design
- Low level of detail throughout, with many interior rooms being mostly empty
Build [3] – A fairly charming playset which looks decent from the outside, but interior details are sorely lacking
Minifigures [4] – Twelve minifigures is still generous even for a $170 set, although some of these figures are reused.
Real Value [2] – The final model is fairly sizeable, but not enough to justify the high retail price and low piece count. Still more reasonable than last year’s $170 Star Wars set, though.
Innovation [2] – Large playsets are always good to see in the Star Wars theme, but this particular one is rather devoid of detail, and uses a modular system that has little use beyond the build process.
Keepability [3] – The first Yavin 4 Rebel Base set should be an iconic mark in LEGO history, but unfortunately this one falls a bit flat.
Rating and score: 3/5 ★★★✰✰
Thanks for reading! 75365 Yavin 4 Rebel Base will be available starting 1 August 2023 from LEGO.com and most toy stores.
For more of Vaderfan’s reviews of the upcoming August 2023 wave of LEGO Star Wars sets, check out his reviews below:
To get the latest LEGO news and LEGO Reviews straight in your inbox, subscribe via email, or you can also follow on Google News, or socials on Facebook, Instagram (@jayong28), Twitter or subscribe to the Jay’s Brick Blog Youtube channel.
